Poloncarz introduces local law prohibiting tobacco, e-cigarette sales in Erie County pharmacies

Submitted

Fri, Mar 4th 2016 04:05 pm

Legislator Savage to sponsor resolution; county executive
joined by Health Commissioner Burstein, public health advocates to announce
proposal

Erie County Executive Mark C.
Poloncarz was joined Friday by Erie County Legislator Peter Savage (3rd
District), Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein, Executive Director of
Pharmacy Services at Roswell Park Cancer Institute Dr. Anthony Fernando,
Director of Tobacco Free WNY Anthony Billoni and pharmacist Stephen Giroux to
announce a local law regarding the prohibition of the sale of tobacco products
and electronic cigarettes in pharmacies and licensed health care institutions
in Erie County. Both the American Pharmacists Association and the Pharmacists
Society of the State of New York support the new local law, which would also
apply to retail establishments containing pharmacies.

"With this law, we are acting at
the local level to protect the health of our residents and remove unhealthy
products from pharmacies and retail establishments with pharmacies in Erie
County," Poloncarz said. "Each year, thousands of men and women in New York die
from smoking-related causes while residents remain accustomed to seeing
cancer-causing products sold alongside health products in pharmacies and stores.
This undermines educational efforts on the dangers of these addictive products
and makes these cancer-causing products more accessible to young people.

"When we see a threat to public
health we must act promptly to address it, and we are doing that today. I thank
Legislator Savage for sponsoring this law and urge the legislature to adopt it
to better protect public health here in Erie County."

"The sale of tobacco products in
pharmacies and licensed health care facilities is completely contrary to these
institutions' core mission of promoting public health, providing treatment and
preventing illness, and should be prohibited," said Savage, the law's sponsor.

The state Department of Health reports
approximately 2.1 million New Yorkers smoke and that, despite youth smoking
rates reaching their lowest recorded levels, approximately 10,600 youth under
18 become new daily smokers each year. 73,700 New York high school students
currently smoke, while more than a million children in the state are exposed to
secondhand smoke in their own homes each year.

Burstein added, "The harmful effects
of smoking are well-documented and, while we are making progress in decreasing
smoking rates, there is more work to be done. Selling tobacco products in
retail outlets that also sell products to promote and increase health is
incompatible with these stores' mission and is detrimental to public health,
giving children the impression that these health-harming products are more
benign than they actually are and potentially ensnaring new generations of
children into an addiction.

"This law is a big step forward in
protecting public health."

The Erie County health
commissioner will have sole jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the new
law, which defines "tobacco products" as "any product made or derived from
tobacco or which contains synthetic nicotine marketed or sold for human
consumption, whether consumption occurs through inhalation, or oral or dermal
absorption."

The law also affects e-cigarettes
and vaping products.

Under the law's provisions, the commissioner
may impose civil penalties for violations of up to $1,000 for a first violation
and up to $2,000 for each subsequent violation.

"Pharmacies are integral members
of the health care community," RPCI's Fernando said. "As a valuable community
resource, pharmacies should promote healthy living and discourage the use of
products that can negatively impact health. The proposed legislation, which
would prohibit the sale of tobacco products and electronic cigarettes in
pharmacies in Erie County, is a sound approach to a comprehensive public health
effort that can promote a healthier population."

Poloncarz added, "Some grocery
stores and pharmacies in Erie County, such as Transit Hill Pharmacy, were
proactive in protecting their customers' health and already made the switch to
a tobacco-free inventory in recent years. Their business remains good and their
commitment to promoting public health provides a model for us to build a
cleaner, healthier Erie County."

"Most locally owned, independent
pharmacies stopped selling cigarettes and tobacco products 20 or more years
ago, when the role of the pharmacist began changing from 'dispenser' to health
care professional," said Giroux, pharmacist and owner of Transit Hill Pharmacy.
"Most of us recognized that, as health care professionals working all day to
improve the health and health care outcomes of our patients, that it was simply
inconsistent with that role to also sell a product that is overwhelmingly
detrimental to our health.

"We welcome the effort to get our
'big-box' competitors to join us in promoting wellness to our patients: the
residents of Erie County, for whom we have cared for many years - grandparents,
parents, children - in encouraging smoking cessation or never starting."

Billoni said, "Tobacco-Free WNY is
at the front line of the NYS DOH effort to end tobacco use - a deadly habit
that costs NYS families nearly $1,000 each year. A main focus of our work is to
reduce the presence and promotion of tobacco at the store counter - which
studies have shown unduly influences our kids to consider smoking and now e-cigarettes.

"Any effort that provides less
access and visibility of tobacco and related products is consistent with our
goal of ending tobacco use in NYS. Ending the sale of tobacco in pharmacies and
stores that have pharmacies would reduce availability of tobacco and related
products by almost 15 percent. We will support our county leaders with
community education and advocacy."